The Principles of Traffic and Transport - 20 Week Evening Lecture Series

A Q&A with Michelle Wood

We sit down with Michelle Wood, Head of Technical Development at PTRC to talk about the 20-Week Evening Lecture Series. Here’s what she had to say…

How long has the 20 Week Lecture Series been running?

We have been running the 20 Week Lecture Series in the UK, and internationally, for nearly 15 years. The series has run in numerous places across the UK as well as internationally in places such as Malta and Toronto, Canada - where we are returning this September.

Why was The Principles of Traffic and Transport devised?

PTRC wanted to develop a cost-effective way for new transport planners, those working in niche areas, and those on the fringe of planning, to be able to acquire a good overview of the industry. We believe that it’s vitally important for planners from all backgrounds to have an understanding in what’s going on in different sectors of the industry. The Series also has been designed to complement the Transport Planning Professional Qualification (TPP).

Tell us more about The Transport Planning Professional Qualification and how the series fits in.

The TPP was designed by industry leaders who saw a gap in the provision of an appropriate professional qualification for transport planners and sought to ensure that experienced transport planners are recognised for their competence based on knowledge, breadth and depth of expertise based on experience as well as the ability to work with and manage others. It’s quite a new qualification, only running for about 10 years now, but there has been a lot of support within the industry to get it off the ground.

Each of the 20 lectures are aligned with the mandatory units and objectives of the Transport Planning Society’s Professional Development Scheme (PDS). The PDS is a structured personal development plan to guide younger transport planners in obtaining the breadth and depth of competence in both the technical and generic skills expected of a transport planning professional.. Attendance of these 20 lectures will contribute toward awareness and knowledge requirements of the relevant technical and management units. For most of the competence units you will need to demonstrate further understanding, but this course can help you sift through what information you need to know.

Why should people take this course?

One of the best parts about this course is how time inexpensive it is - lectures run from 17:30 – 19:00 only one day a week. This means that it’s easy for delegates to commit some time to, and companies don’t have to worry about losing staff for half a day.

Another great reason to join us at The Principles of Traffic and Transport is the ample networking opportunity. We kick off the series with some networking drinks so you can get to know your fellow students and there really is a variety – lots of people from Local Authorities, delegates from both large and small consultancies and attendees from charities or other third sector companies. I know lots of people within the profession who look back fondly at their Lecture Series days!